Punk

by Lex J. Grootelaar

Short and entertaining, “Punk” pushes both the rules of writing and the dominant ideas and expectations of our society. Thrown into the world of punk rock in the early 1990s, this novel follows the intertwining lives of a wandering reject and the people he meets as he learns of his fathers’ unexpected death. It explores themes of social structure and religious indifference through the eyes of this disenfranchised man living from one high to the next. The story takes place over a few hot summer days in Edmonton, Alberta. This coming-of-age story, although set in the 90's, is still very relevant to today. It explores a quest for God without religion. Written with bursts of stream-of-consciousness and first person narrative, “Punk” is simultaneously an urban existential fiction and a mystery novel.

Genres: Fiction

179 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2016

Reviews

[lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good part of this book is the cover.

[Zoë Birss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoroughly Edmontonian book, Punk follows two days in the life of a young punk who likes to go by the name of Clark Kent. Like a series of dream sequences, Kent finds himself floating between a myriad impossible situations, each like a strange vignette of life as a young punk in the city. In each new scene of these eventful few hours, Kent finds new companions and travellers with whom he shares mind altering chemicals and long discussions on life, philosophy, and God. It's a psychedelic dreamscape of death, drugs, violence, cons, grief, love, poetry, and conspicuous Albertan landmarks.

Readers from Edmonton, like me, and especially those whose life has ever touched that of the music or radical scenes, will probably enjoy this familiar yet fantastical romp through this compressed punk experience.

Unfortunately, outside of those who know Edmonton well, other readers will likely struggle to know where the character is at any time, or when it is significant to know so. There isn't really a sense of place established outside of just naming streets and landmarks with which the reader will either be familiar or not.

As a story, there is a lack of tension, as much of the events seem to happen to Clark Kent, rather than be moved by him. A thousand coincidences plague the pages. However, for a book that is considering the hand of God touching all things, these coincidences may be by design. Concentrating on the plot, therefore, makes the book feel thin. Letting the narrator lift you from one drug induced experience to another, and forgetting the possible reality of it, makes for a better read.

Some of the dialogue in the book could use some work, particularly some of the theological musings, which would benefit from some more rigorous foundations and reasons. The Christian characters that appear (very briefly) are blandly stereotypical, and not easy to believe. My own experience and background in theology probably makes these flaws more obvious than they would be to other readers.

The biggest flaw I found with the book was he arc of the main character. His motivation is unclear, and changes through the book. Plot threads are introduced in one chapter, and then closed with several chapters left, just to have another completely different motivation introduced. The secondary character, Silk Spectre, is similarly unjustified in her motivations, becoming a somewhat shallow figure, object of desire for the main character, whose own desires seem to simply follow the needs of the lead and the plot. Finally, the character we meet at the beginning is one I would much rather know than the one at the end. Kent states and displays firm convictions and values at the beginning of the book that are wildly different from his actions at the end. I struggled to see how the events of his day would lead him to such a change. And the main motivations and payoff in the final chapters felt very sadly cliche, and compromising in the life of a character so rich with conviction at the start.

Okay. I have to say it. His motivation is money. I didn't buy it.

But I forgive it. I like the book. Forget the plot. I liked the stories.

I enjoyed reading this book as a series of strange and familiar incidents all happening in my favourite city on earth. I easily forgive its flaws, as a reader that is probably just about the exact demographic for whom this story is shared - a man living in Edmonton in his thirties who once ran with punks, and still does on occasion, whose life has settled considerably in the last few years, and loves to consider big questions of philosophy, theology, and culture. I recommend the book to anyone somewhat orbiting this description.

☠

Paperback, perfect bound
Self published, Edmonton, 2017
Cover art (painted skull with mohawk) by Alma Visscher

February 4-10, 2018

Three Stars

☠

[Tyler Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish I could give this book a higher rating. It's not as if there's any glaring issue with it, on the contrary, It's actually quite a good read. I just found so many small nit-picky problems with the book that it makes it hard to give it four stars. I normally don't care much about typos and editing mistakes, but there were a lot in this book. Almost to the point that it broke the flow of the narrative. I really liked the unorthodox religious message, but I feel like the plot itself may have been somewhat of an afterthought. Although, given the length of the book, it would be difficult to do anything much more complex with it, so what IS here is pretty good, considering.

I mainly just picked this book up because it was written by an Edmontonian author, and it was nice to see landmarks from my hometown crop up consistently throughout. I also used to be pretty involved in the local music scene here (although not nearly as heavy a crowd as the protagonist), so the combination of recognizable street numbers and a plot concerning punks from Edmonton made for a pretty entertaining nostalgia trip, and I'd probably recommend it just for that regardless of anything negative I can say about it.

[Brad Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up as an impulse buy at an old Chapters location, while hunting around in the "Local Authors" section. Kind of glad I picked this up!

The book begins with a gutter punk, our protagonist, hitching a ride onto a freeway. Most of this book takes place in Edmonton, Alberta. So most of the book mentions local places, parks, venues, and other establishments that may only be familiar with locals.

Without spoiling too much of the novel, it mostly contains alcohol use, drug use, adventure, quarrels with local gangs, and even true love. Not a bad combination to cram in for a short novel. I actually enjoyed the ride!

-Brad

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great debut novel by Grootelaar. The story follows a punk in the Edmonton music and drug scene.

He experiences a huge life shift within a few days, focusing on the philosophical nature of life and its meaning. Storywise, he's on the hunt for money that may or may not exist while trying to hit on girls, get his fix, and figure out his new path in life. Oh, and trying to avoid murderous gangs.

This was such a fun ride for me because I don't read a lot of deep-thinking types of book. Plus, it was set in Edmonton where I grew up, lived, and partied myself, and the familiarity gave me such a warm, nostalgic feeling.

[big gleesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue between characters is pretentious for the sake of making a point and not how people talk in real life. The pacing was also not my favorite

[aidan gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely

well written with some excellent themes🤟🏻 was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as i did, short too

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming of age journey

Mindset and ambitions shifts if you learn from experiences and inner knowledge. Great short read although am a slow reader, an entertaining and glorious read!

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, would not recommend

[Jenilee Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift from a very thoughtful boyfriend. I am in the punk scene in Edmonton right now and reading about places I know was interesting. The story wasn't great, but I think the strange jumps and changes in perspective and such that the protagonist goes through work with the punk scene in all of its complexities and drug-addled insanity. I wouldn't read it again nor would I recommend it to others, but I'm glad it exists, if that makes any sense.

[Sierra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning was surprisingly slow and it took a little while to hook me, but when it did I couldn’t put it down. It was a lighthearted, quick read that was philosophical and made me questions things about love and life and happiness. I loved how laid back the writing style was and I enjoyed the characters. Ellie and Raphael’s love made me tear up a few times, so natural and so destined for each other. 3 stars from me :)

[Mani Pashaei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Straight up ass.